Album Review: The Hirsch Effekt - Urian
Reviewed by Patrick O'Reilly
The Hirsch Effekt have appeared at many festivals around Europe in recent years, from Wacken to ArcTanGent. It was at Tech Fest last year that I first became acquainted with them, I was instantly impressed by their intensity and the dichotomy of beauty and brutality that their music demonstrates.
Having released an album ‘Kollaps’ in 2020 they followed this up with EP releases including last year’s ‘Solitaer’ which was heavily influenced by the band members individual experiences and isolation of the Covid pandemic. A new album is here, titled ‘Urian’ and again it is an amalgamation of many different styles, atmospheres and emotions.
My first listen coincided with a long bus journey in the rain, alone on the top deck of the bus I let the album wash over me and was thrilled to find it a moving and emotional listen.
From opening acoustic number ‘Agora’ the tone is set, this is thoughtful and intelligent music. What follows next is a rollercoaster of music, highs and lows in terms of sound, tone, technicality and pretty much all musical characteristics.
So many genres are covered by this band on this album alone, it lurches from mathcore to prog to anthemic acoustic rock to shoegaze, it's hard to keep up with but is in no way a chore, it is a thrilling ride and one that only deepens with further listens.
The Hirsch Effekt have crafted another beautiful album that runs the gamut of both human emotion and musicality. It is uplifting and exhilarating at the same time but also poignant and calming in places. It is filled with supreme musicianship and depth and reveals the band to be a true force in technical epic metal. Catch them at a show or festival and revel in their intensity in the live environment or enjoy them at home on your stereo but make sure you do listen to the Hirsch Effekt at some point, you will not regret it.
